Talkin’ About Sanjaya

The focus returned to hair this week on “American Idol.” Well, yeah, Sanjaya‘s ‘do, but we’ll get to that in a minute (sorry, it’s something I just need to work up to). But what was Randy Jackson doing to his pate? So, listen, check it out, dude, a little heavy on the Grecian Formula, dawg.

But, otherwise, it was country and western week at “AI,” with superstar Martina McBride as the coach for the seven remaining contestants and although I was betting on this being the end of Phil Stacey, I have to admit he made a good showing with his version of Keith Urban’s “Where the Blacktop Ends.” He still lacks the kind of stage electricity that makes a real star, but he done good on the vocals and the delivery tonight.

Was it enough to save him? Maybe, if America has finally had its fill of Sanjaya, who aquitted himself rather well last week, but who stumbled badly with Bonnie Raitt’s “Let’s Give ‘Em Something to Talk About.” He chose the song to acknowledge that people have been talkin’ about him all season, but it wasn’t the time to make a choice for the wrong reasons. He should have chosen a song the fit his range and personality.

And, of course, the wacky hair was back this week. I dunno what he was doing with his hair. It was large and kinda scary and kinda looked like a nest of snakes held back by a red bandana.

Some of the good performances tonight: Jordin Sparks was terrific with her take on McBride’s “A Broken Wing” and Melinda Doolittle killed with Julie Reeves’ country rocker “Trouble Is a Woman.”

LaKisha Jones tried Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel,” but, as Randy said, she missed the chance to give it a gospel spin and make it her own. Chris Richardson offered Rascal Flatts’ “Mayberry,” and the real news is that he didn’t do that annoying head jerk once all night. It was pitchy and, as Simon said, nasally. Richardson almost made a no-no by arguing with Simon, but then pulled back and offered a choked-up expression of sympathy for the victims of the Virginia Tech shooting.

Blake Lewis closed the show with Tim McGraw’s “When the Stars Go Blue.” It was ok, but just that. The beat-box boy obviously had a bit of trouble making the transition to the country side of the road.

Who’s in trouble? I’d say LaKisha, Sanjaya and Stacey. As former contestant Haley Scarnato said after getting the boot last week, when you’ve been in the bottom three for a few weeks, you know you’re probably on your way out. And her companion in the bottom three was Stacey for the last couple of weeks.

That said, at some point, voters are going to tire of the Sanjaya game, as the number of contestants dwindles. The remaining singers are serious competitors. Sanjaya, cute as he is, didn’t convey seriousness with his choice of song tonight. That might have been mildly amusing earlier in the competition, but at this stage, it could prove fatal.